WASHINGTON – One of only four copies of the Magna Carta is on display for the first time in 75 years at the Library of Congress, giving Americans the chance to see a document that inspired the founding fathers as they wrote the U.S. Constitution.
Displayed in a sealed glass showcase, the medieval Latin handwriting scrawled on the yellowed parchment was written 800 years ago when King John of England was forced by his subjects to agree to a charter of rights and liberties, leading to the rule of law rather than monarchical rule. The exhibit opened last week.
Ariana Estariel, an Arlington, Va., resident who has worked at the U.S Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation for 23 years, said she wanted to see the document because of her passion for justice.
“The Magna Carta is so important to me because that established some of the foundational rights and beliefs we hold as justice,” Estariel said. “Justice — just not that old parchment, but something that is living and vibrant that we must preserve and we must adapt to the coming challenges we see in our society.”
The exhibition showed books, letters, newspapers, judicial decisions and photos to illustrate ways the Magna Carta has affected history, especially in four areas: due process of the law, the right to trial by jury, immunity from illegal imprisonment and the concept of limited executive power.
“We are honored to place on exhibition Magna Carta, one of the lasting treasures of human history,” Librarian of Congress James Billington said in statement. “The principles that underlay the Magna Carta are the foundation of our liberties, inspiring this country’s founding fathers in shaping the U.S. Constitution and the laws of this land.”
Nathan Dorn, curator of rare books at the Law Library of Congress said the exhibition signifies a deep connection between the Library of Congress and Magna Carta documents.
“November 2014 is the 75th anniversary of the first time any medieval manuscripted Magna Carta came to the United States,” he said.
The 10-week exhibition, “Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor,” located in the South Gallery at the second level of the Thomas Jefferson Building, is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It opened Nov. 6.
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